Archives: Courses

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Classes are designed to challenge your thinking and develop your professional skills. You’ll leave each class with a unique set of tools to approach new communications challenges.

Tailor your experience to your career goals by focusing on one of eight areas of specialization. Use the search widget below to sort classes by quarter, specialization, instructor and degree track for each quarter. Get a comprehensive view of the full academic year in our Course Guide.

View the University of Washington Academic Calendar for important dates, including quarter start and end dates, registration dates and deadlines, and campus holidays.

Registration numbers (SLNs) are located on the Time Schedule. Please read the Department’s statement on internet resource requirements for access to courses.

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COMMLD 518: Information Architecture

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Summer 2026

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Saturdays 6/27, 7/11, 7/25, 8/8, 8/22, 9:00am – 5:00pm | Online
Registration SLN: 10723

Course Description

Information Architecture (IA) helps users understand where they are, what they’ve found, what’s around, and what to expect when they are visiting a website or application. When you have large amounts of information to display, IA can help you create groups, sorting, labels and provide navigation to help people browse your content. This class sets up the basics for organizing content through architecture. We’ll learn about the theory and techniques that help us provide clear paths through content. Through best practices articles, real world examples, and student projects, we’ll explore the foundations and potential of Information Architecture. Students will take on their own mini-project and present their IA discoveries at the end of the session.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

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COMMLD 521: Digital Media Branding & Marketing

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Summer 2026

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 6/24 – 8/19, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online
Registration SLN: 10724

Course Description

This course is designed for students who will be utilizing their education and experience in the marketing career tracks or in leadership functions where an understanding of marketing is critical. The focus of the course will be on how to build a brand online or extend a legacy brand digitally by applying marketing fundamentals and examining how the most interesting and dynamic brands operate today. We will simulate brand management and building campaigns for real-world brands and explore how they reach target customers to meet objectives and participate in online culture. While online platforms have offered us many more opportunities and “shiny objects” to reach and communicate with customers, the fundamental marketing skills and theories don’t change much or quickly. Learning to be strategic about how to apply these fundamentals will allow students to remain flexible and relevant.

This class is a good match for students who:

• want to build expansive, omni-channel marketing strategies and tactics for brand building

• want to develop a CMO view of brand management and building marketing capabilities

• want to learn to create a portfolio-level brand plan

Honestly, this class felt like years of experience packed in ten weeks. As someone who has worked with marketers but has never taken any marketing courses before this one, my perception of branding and digital marketing evolved constantly week by week. Having theoretical and practical experience throughout this course truly gave me a well-rounded experience. —previous student, Digital Media Branding & Marketing

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COMMLD 541A: Crisis Communication

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Summer 2026

Open Elective | Meets Law and Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 6/23 – 8/18, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online
Registration SLN: 10726

Course Description

Crisis communications is about much more than “spin.” Crises will happen – in government, in the corporate sector, in nonprofits and political campaigns. What will differentiate you as a communicator is your ability to plan for it, navigate it in real time, and learn something from it. There is opportunity in crisis. A crisis forces us to look inside ourselves, at our policies, at our practices, and at how we do our business.

Of course, crisis communications has always been tough; social media and the advent of generative AI have just made it tougher. We will navigate the latest cultural challenges, from “cancel culture” to messaging in our polarized society. In this course, we will look at before the crisis (including planning), how we respond during the crisis (this includes the critical crisis communications plan) and after (this is where we cover actions one must take afterwards, including how to repair the damage done). The class is designed to look at crises in various sectors and will include participation from professionals in the field.

Meets Law and Ethics Requirement.

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COMMLD 560E: Inclusive Design & Product Equity

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Summer 2026

Open Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Mondays 6/22- 8/17, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 10727

Course Description:

Technology shapes who gets seen, heard, and served – and who gets left behind. This course prepares students to design products, services, and communications that work for a broader range of people and experiences.
Through the study of accessibility, inclusive design, responsible AI, and product equity, students will examine how technology can unintentionally exclude, disadvantage, or harm individuals and communities – and learn practical, industry-informed frameworks for identifying barriers, mitigating risk, and creating more equitable user experiences. The course culminates in a hands-on consulting project with a real-world organization, where students apply what they’ve learned to improve the inclusivity of a product, service, or communication strategy. Graduates leave with a portfolio-ready project, a practical toolkit for inclusive innovation, and the skills to help shape technology that works better for everyone.

Meets Law & Ethics Requirement.

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COMMLD 591: Independent Research

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Winter 2026 | Spring 2026 | Summer 2026

Open Elective | 1-5 Credits
Application Required

Course Description:

Independent Research projects are student-driven, with faculty serving in a loose advisory capacity. This option is for students with a clear project in mind who will only need minimal faculty support to accomplish their end goal. See complete details and application instructions on the Guide to Independent Research page.

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COMMLD 593: Internship

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Winter 2026 | Spring 2026 | Summer 2026

Open Elective | 1-5 Credits
Application Required

Course Description:

An internship can be a useful way to give students a fundamental understanding of the industry and to accelerate one’s career path. The course aims to enhance students’ career readiness through guided self-reflection, peer dialogue, and employer feedback. Through active participation in online discussions and thoughtful completion of structured assignments, students will reflect on their internships and identify how they relate to their coursework, college experience, personal identity, career readiness, and professional future.

Please note that in order to earn credits for COMMLD 593 an Internship is necessary but not sufficient. Students must also complete additional academic deliverables for their instructor as described above.

Also note that Internships should be directly relevant to the student’s field of study (degree or specialization). Part-time jobs not related to the degree will normally not be approved for internship credit, as the purpose of an internship is to apply what you have been learning in your degree to a real world work experience. See complete details and application instructions on the Guide to Internships page.

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COMMLD 600: MC Research Project

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- Current Quarter | 2025-2026 | Winter 2026 | Spring 2026 | Summer 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Application Required

Course Description:

After completion of a minimum of 50% of Comm Lead course work, students can choose to conduct a scholarly research project. An MC Research Project is roughly the equivalent of a master’s thesis in scope and rigor, and requires the student form a committee of at least two faculty members to evaluate the work, as well as give a public presentation of the final deliverable. See complete details and application instructions on the Guide to MC Research Project page.

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COMMLD 518: Information Architecture

COMMLD 521: Digital Media Branding & Marketing

COMMLD 541A: Crisis Communication

COMMLD 560E: Inclusive Design & Product Equity

COMMLD 591: Independent Research

COMMLD 593: Internship

COMMLD 600: MC Research Project

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